Ian Pratt named acting COO at BPL

Ian Pratt has been named the acting chief operating officer (COO) of Bahamas Power and Light (BPL), according to Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Whitney Heastie.

This comes weeks after the abrupt departure of former BPL COO Christina Alston.

“I am pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Ian Pratt as acting chief operating officer of BPL, effective immediately,” Heastie said in an email to BPL employees.

“Ian has been with the company for more than 20 years, serving BPL and its customers in the technical planning division, field operations division and, most recently, in the Family Islands division.

“The experience he has gained since joining BPL, his institutional knowledge of the company, particularly in the field operations division, and knowledge of the other various operating areas will enable him to effectively formulate BPL’s operating strategy, ensuring that our vision of reliable and affordable electricity to residents of The Bahamas is achieved.

“In addition to his new responsibilities as acting chief operating officer, Ian will retain his current responsibilities as director of Family Islands.

“Ian holds a degree in electrical engineering from the Florida Institute of Technology and a master’s in business administration from the University of Miami.”

BPL has in recent months experienced continual upheaval with its executive team.

In August 2018, the government appointed an entirely new BPL board after three of the former board members tendered their resignations due to reported tension on the board.

At the time, Public Works Minister Desmond Bannister said that the relationships among board members had significantly deteriorated to a point where the board had locked horns on almost every critical issue at great cost to the company, necessitating new leadership.

The former board was made up of Darnell Osborne, who was the executive chairman, Nick Dean, Nicola Thompson, Patrick Rollins, Ferron Bethel and Heastie.